Sarfaraz Khan has been the talk of Indian cricket of late. Although he is yet to earn his maiden India cap, Sarfaraz has created quite a buzz over the last couple of months with the plethora of runs he has been notching up in domestic cricket, which has left fans and experts fuming over his continued non-selection for the national team. But the 25-year-old has kept his composure amid the outside noise as he notched up another ton in Ranji Trophy, two days after being denied a spot in the 17-member squad for the first two Tests against Australia.
Life hasn’t been the easiest for Sarfaraz. His father, Naushad Khan, would do odd jobs to make ends meet and support his son in his dream of becoming a cricketer. Sarfaraz hence values his father’s support more than anything in the world, probably something which has kept him calm through his ongoing mental battle amid the denials.
Speaking to Indian Express, Naushad recalled a heartfelt story of the sheer innocence of his son where he momentarily compares his living to that of Arjun Tendulkar, son of legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar, who he is often played with or faced in the early days of his career, before admitting the value of his father’s sacrifice.
“Abbu, Arjun kitna naseebwala hai na? (Arjun is so lucky). He is Sachin sir’s son, and has cars, iPads, everything,” remarked a young Sarfaraz as recalled by his father.
Naushad was at loss of words, but remembered that his son came running back to him soon and hugged him saying, “I’m more fortunate than him. You can devote the entire day to me. His father is not able to give him any time.”
Sarfaraz continues to pile up runs in Ranji Trophy, hoping to get through to the Indian Test squad for the last two matches of the impending Border-Gavaskar series against Australia at home.
